Field guide No. 700
Prickly pear threaded with miniature lightning
Do not water. Do not touch.
At night in a dark desert, a prickly pear cactus crackles with tiny violet bolts of lightning strung between its spines like fairy lights. The spines were warning enough.
Field noteLightning this small should not stay put. These bolts hang from the spines like lights on a hedge.
Also possible, also breaking physics
Cyclamen blooms beneath the soilFlowers open to the light for the bees. These bloom in the dark, for the worms.
Goldfish carries its own waterA ring of water can travel with a leaping fish, if it holds together. The gym floor stays dry.
Frost clings where the fox touchesRime follows the fox through a mild meadow; the fox is the cold source and the weather has not been told.
Slug’s cracked trail on wet stepsSlug trails do dry and crack, just not on wet wood seconds after the slug.